Director of Science Entrepreneurship & Commercialization

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Inc

St. Louis (MO)

On-site

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Danforth Center in Saint Louis, MO is seeking a Director of Entrepreneurship to drive the commercialization pipeline by training scientist-entrepreneurs and representing the Center with industry partners.

You will interface with the Danforth Technology Company incubator on portfolio startups, translate research into commercial opportunities, and build external relationships while mentoring researchers through venture concepts.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred with specialization in Science, Agriculture, or Business Administration.
Minimum of three years of relevant experience, ideally including exposure to the agtech or crop science industry and startup environment.
On-site at the Danforth Center in St. Louis, Missouri, with travel as needed.

Responsibilities

Champion entrepreneurial culture across research teams and identify ventures with commercial potential.
Design and deliver training on customer discovery and market validation.
Coach scientist-entrepreneurs to translate science into business concepts.
Interface with external companies and strategic partners on commercialization matters.
Support marketing of Danforth Center technologies and spinout ventures.
Represent the Center at industry conferences, forums, and entrepreneurship events to raise visibility.
Develop non-technical framing for external audiences, pitches, and marketing materials.
Work with DTC on budgets, forecasting, and reporting for portfolio ventures.
Advise scientist-founders on start-up budgeting, burn rate, and milestones.
Track program metrics like ventures launched and licenses.